I have been testing OC stability using 8 hrs. of P95 Blend for the past few weeks and found my max OC is 3.58GHz at 1.55 Vcore (I know it is disappointing, but it's an Athlon). The max CPU temp is 51 degrees. I am still not 100% clear if this is safe. I hear that 1.55Vcore is the absolute max from some, but then hear that as long as temps are low, higher Vcore is ok to do.

I know the vcore for phenom II max is 1.55 not sure about athlon. I personally won't push my vcore past 1.5 for a 24/7 oc. I used to keep mine at 3.9 with 1.52v but now I'm keeping it at 1.48v and 120mhz lower clock. Eventually (never a set amount of time) you will have to raise the vcore tokeep up with the clock. It all depends how long you plan to keep the processor. You should be ok but the more volts pushed into a cpu the less life it has. You will probably get 7 years opposed to 10 for example.

I wouldn't exceed the 1.55v Vcore, especially on air.
Perhaps with more info (complete list) on all your current settings we could make more suggestions that may help you more. The temp sounds good if it's the cpu socket temp your reading and with more info perhaps you could push it a little further.

I know the vcore for phenom II max is 1.55 not sure about athlon. I personally won't push my vcore past 1.5 for a 24/7 oc. I used to keep mine at 3.9 with 1.52v but now I'm keeping it at 1.48v and 120mhz lower clock. Eventually (never a set amount of time) you will have to raise the vcore tokeep up with the clock. It all depends how long you plan to keep the processor. You should be ok but the more volts pushed into a cpu the less life it has. You will probably get 7 years opposed to 10 for example.

Just run p95 for 12 hours, if it's still stable, I'd say your ok.

Thx. I don't know any overclocker who would keep an Athlon II X4 for 10 years. haha. I've read that some people have used a 1.575 Vcore on this CPU on air. But I guess I will keep it at 1.55 to avoid the possibility of any fires.

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Sandman

I wouldn't exceed the 1.55v Vcore, especially on air.
Perhaps with more info (complete list) on all your current settings we could make more suggestions that may help you more. The temp sounds good if it's the cpu socket temp your reading and with more info perhaps you could push it a little further.

My OC is not finalized. Still have to find the best CPU/NB, RAM, and HT Link settings. That's why I didn't post it. Yea, it is the socket temp that's 51 max. Since all other frequencies are below stock, I don't think I can push the CPU further. Should have bought a phenom for the same price.

I have gone to 1.7vcore on this chip for 3.75. I was pretty nervous and backed down, but I was kind of trying to push the chip to burn up to justify buying a new one. I stay at 3.6 now with 1.503. Your temp seems a little high for the cooler you are using. I have a crappy half stack TX3, the H212+'s little brother and My temps are slightly cooler(49max)

Is the 1.55v Vcore your BIOS setting, or what the monitoring software is reporting? If the former, check what the load Vcore is in CPU-Z or ASUS PC-Probe. ASUS M4A and M4N boards tend to have a significant Vdroop factor (the latter more than the former).

Being an Athlon has nothing to do with it vs a Phenom.If it's a C3 rev. it should do just as well.All chips clock different.3.5GHz is very low for 1.5v.Make sure you have RAM and NB settings correct-they will cause instability even more so than the CPU,and since you have to use the ref. clock to overclock the CPU it can be easy to miss the mark.

Being an Athlon has nothing to do with it vs a Phenom.If it's a C3 rev. it should do just as well.All chips clock different.3.5GHz is very low for 1.5v.Make sure you have RAM and NB settings correct-they will cause instability even more so than the CPU,and since you have to use the ref. clock to overclock the CPU it can be easy to miss the mark.

If you read my OP, you can see it is 3.58GHz @1.55V, not 3.5GHz @ 1.5V. There is a big difference. Anyways, yes, all other settings are at or below stock frequencies & voltages except for CPU/NB Voltage which is at 1.3V. From my research and reading, it seems the average OC for this chip is at 3.6GHz, and I am pretty close to it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by luchog

Is the 1.55v Vcore your BIOS setting, or what the monitoring software is reporting? If the former, check what the load Vcore is in CPU-Z or ASUS PC-Probe. ASUS M4A and M4N boards tend to have a significant Vdroop factor (the latter more than the former).

1.55Vcore is BIOS setting. Yes, there is a good amount of Vdroop. CPU-Z shows Vcore averaging 1.5V. But, from my understanding this is quite normal. Yes, I really don't like my MOBO which I bought on accident (thought it was the EVO under the same model #).Edited by charlie310 - 4/15/11 at 6:06pm